The first edition of the San Francesco Marathon 10.2K was won by Alessio Malfagia from Perugia. The athlete from ASD Podistica Lino Spagnoli finished the race with a time of 32 minutes and 14 seconds with an average pace of 3’14” per kilometer. Among the women, Silvia Tamburi from Atletica Avis Perugia reached the highest podium with a time of 35 minutes and 20 seconds.
But the whole city won, thanks also to the favorable weather that blessed the race with a warm sun, as the people took to the streets to encourage the 260 athletes who were called to run the 10.2 kilometers of road that physically and spiritually connected the Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi to that of Santa Maria degli Angeli.
The competition was very fast and saw 198 men and 62 women at the starting line, divided into nine categories. For the men, Malfagia was followed by Simone Falomi from S.S.D. A.R.L. Dynamik Fitness who was 1 minute and 14 seconds behind, and Andrea Apostoli Proietti from Atletica Winner Foligno who placed third with a time of 33 minutes and 53 seconds. Natalya Shishkina from Atletica Winner Foligno was second in the women's competition with a time of 38 minutes and 26 seconds. Third was Emanuela Varasano from Atletica Capanne Pro Loco Athl. Team, who finished ten seconds later.
Among the athletes, the youngest participant was Luca Vannucci, born in 2004, while the oldest was Sergio Mancinelli, born in 1945.
All the winners were awarded by the Mayor of Assisi, Stefania Proietti, and the Sports Councilor, Veronica Cavallucci. "We are very satisfied," said the mayor from the award stage, "with how Assisi responded and I thank all the organizers for this wonderful day, starting with one of our adopted citizens, Don Federico Claure, who first believed in this project and became its promoter. The choice of making a marathon on the steps of St. Francis represents more than an event but an idea of brotherhood. It is the first step towards a wider shared goal."
The SFM 10.2K in Assisi marks the first step towards the 42-kilometer San Francesco Marathon which will be held on Sunday, November 5, 2023. This event will be the culmination of a long organizational work that started in 2017 with the intention of uniting sport, friendship, and brotherhood under Francis values. "I Bless You, Life," the slogan with which the athletes ran these ten kilometers, will be the message that will be re-launched on the occasion of the event next year. Furthermore, 2023 is an important year as it coincides with the first of the four centuries that will mark the journey of the Franciscan family around the world until 2026.
This edition of the San Francesco Marathon 10.2K was organized by SSD Life Running Assisi, with the patronage of the Diocese of Assisi-Gualdo Tadino-Nocera Umbra, the National Office of Leisure, Tourism and Sport of the Italian Episcopal Conference and the city of Assisi, and in collaboration with Athletica Vaticana, the first association of Catholic athletes in the world, and the Italian Athletics Federation.
